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Nursery in charity scandal

The owner of a nursery business deprived a charity of tens of thousands of pounds by obtaining two leases that allowed her to pay only a fraction of an open market rent, an investigation by the Charity Commission has found. The Commission found that Sandra Allan, who claimed she was unaware of her responsibilities as a trustee of the charity, had been subject to a conflict of interest when she secured the leases on the 40-place nursery adjoining Greatham Village Hall in Hampshire in 1993 and 1998, allowing her to pay between 1,280 and 2,160 a year. In a report the Commission said the charity 'was disadvantaged by the arrangement' because 'evidence produced by the current trustees (shows) that an open market rent is currently in the region of 25,000 a year'.

The Commission found that Sandra Allan, who claimed she was unaware of her responsibilities as a trustee of the charity, had been subject to a conflict of interest when she secured the leases on the 40-place nursery adjoining Greatham Village Hall in Hampshire in 1993 and 1998, allowing her to pay between Pounds 1,280 and 2,160 a year. In a report the Commission said the charity 'was disadvantaged by the arrangement' because 'evidence produced by the current trustees (shows) that an open market rent is currently in the region of Pounds 25,000 a year'.

The current trustees are considering legal action against Mrs Allan to recover the lost revenue.

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